The Dubious Moon
by Quarez
Summary: When he thought it was all over, he awoke in his mother's arms with a new identity eight years before his journey began. Now no longer the center figure, how will he change everything whilst keeping his former self and now younger brother Lelouch Vi Britannia from the path of despair and destruction? Gender Swap, Alternate Universe.
1. Chapter 1 - Birth of a Moon

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.

"I destroyed the world... and created it... anew..."

Those were the last words the demon emperor uttered before falling into an eternal slumber beside his eternal slumber as the crowd cheered on. For him, it was like an eternity; life flashing before his eyes as he relived his most precious memories yet again. His times at Ashford, his first encounter with Suzaku and CC, his kiss with Kallen, and finally, the joyful period he spent with Suzaku and Nunnally as a child.

 _I guess this is the end then,_ he thought as the world turned to black. An eternal emptiness, stretching thousands of kilometers. stared into the emptiness as his right hand reached for his stomach where he was pierced, but no wound was found.

 _No wound... then this is the afterlife perhaps?_ Though Lelouch was not one for the paranormal and religious, after his encounter with a pizza loving immortal witch and the power of Geass, there were few things that could surprise him, with the exception of Milly's antics.

He waited for Death to greet him, in fact he had already thought of a script in his head to greet Death in return, but nothing came. Even after what felt like hours, it was simply a dark, eternal emptiness.

Then, it suddenly hit him. _Maybe this is what hell looks like!_ If one were to be left in such an emptiness for an eternity, then it was certainly the equivalent to hell. Even knowing this, Lelouch only smiled. _But this is what I deserve I guess, my atonement for my sins._

Then suddenly, the world was bleached in white. Lelouch tried to cover his eyes on instinct, but his hands would not move. He could only close his eyes and bear with the intense light.

After a few seconds, he could start to hear noises resembling buzzes around him. As time moved on, the buzzes became clearer and clearer, and eventually began to resemble words.

"It's a girl, My Lady!"

"Wonderful! What should we call her Charles?"

 _...What? Charles zi Britannia was dead, must be another Charles the- wait hold on, did he just say 'It's a boy'?_

"Anything you like Marianne, don't make it something ridiculous though"

Hearing the voice of the 98th Emperor of Britannia again, he almost fainted.

 _Impossible! I killed him and mother and I saw it with my own eyes! Why are they here now?_

"The moon is quite bright today... Luna, yes, Luna vi Britannia, 8th Princess of Britannia."

"Alright, Luna it is then."

Hearing this, it suddenly hit Lelouch. _Wait, was I sent back to the past? And I'm a female of all things? Damn, I can't hear them anymore._

Though he tried to keep himself awake, fatigue embraced him as he fell asleep in his late mother's arms.

1998, Aries Villa

Lelouch was now seven year of age. He, or she, was currently in the garden reading a book named _In the Wake of Britannia_. There were still no signs of his mother, Marianne being pregnant, which worried him as he was looking forward to seeing his beloved sister Nunnally again after many years.

During the first six months of his new life, he simply focused on getting by as there was nothing to do for a toddler. In fact, it bore him so much that he was even considering dealing with Milly's pranks and antics a better alternative.

The second half of the year was undoubtedly much more interesting, as he finally received access to his mouth to speak freely after 10 months and the ability to walk after 9. Though it wasn't exactly difficult for an intelligent being, it almost gave the caretaker a heart attack when she was spoken to in fluent britannian by a 10 month old child.

He had determined through reading that the timeline in this world was slightly different his original world. The most noticeable difference was that the EU (Europia United) was not yet united, and was still divided between the Regions of Russia, Africa, mainland Europe and Parts of Middle East. Though this in theory would make them much easier to invade for Britannia, their constant state of war meant that all regions were much more militaristic and more heavily equipped. In fact, the current Britannian Campaign in the region was progressing at much slower rate than it originally was.

The other noticeable difference, was that he was now the 8th Princess of Britannia, born 8 years prior to his previous self. This both allowed him more time to prepare and more time to learn of the world, which was a blessing in itself. The gender switch part - not so much. In fact, so far his features were quite similar to his previous self, striking black hair and piercing violet er

Speaking of Marianne, she acted exactly like she used to before his exile in his previous world. Such a perfect image of a mother, that it made him wonder why she had to be such a heartless monster inside.

He let out a sigh as he continued to read, trying to find every detail of history that didn't match with his own world to make sure that he would not make a careless blunder later on.

This time, he would create the peaceful world Nunnally and the world wished for, and atone for all the sins he had committed in his previous life.

He was no longer Lelouch Lamperouge, but Luna vi Britannia, 8th prince of the Holy Empire of Britannia.

Charles zi Britannia was impressed, to say the least, with his new daughter.

At the ripe age of one, could already speak fluent britannian english (though with a childish accent due to the developing body) and walk. A day after he spoke his first words, he was already capable of engaging in complex conversations with both Marianne and himself. He initially believed that something had happened to the collective unconsciousness, but V.V had already confirmed that there were no abnormalities. It left both him and Marianne flabbergasted, but by no means did he not like it.

The girl had requested for formal military training at the age of five, and knightmare training a year later. (ironically she also detested the military training at the same time). By the time she was seven, she had already reached a proficiency level of 87% with the Ganymede. Though she was offered the chance to use the experimental generation three model formally known as the Glasgow, she refused and chose to stick with the Ganymede, claiming that it was more familiar.

She displayed more intelligence than nearly all of his children. He still remembered when she challenged Schneizel in chess moments after watching him defeat an earl whilst not having played chess herself, yet coming out victorious. It was the talk of the royal family for months after, much to the dismay of Schneizel and his pride as the undefeated.

In contrast to those of her age, her eyes were cold and sharp which, when coupled with her domineering posture due to her training, was truly terrifying to behold. In fact, the aura she possessed rivaled that of himself, which was both frightening yet exciting at the same time. How could an innocent soul who had yet to see the horrors of reality have such a piercing gaze? perhaps it was simply due to her heritage. With Marianne's raven hair and his violet eyes, she was the perfect image of a future empress.

But due to this, Charles was afraid.

After witnessing reality, how would she change? Would she turn into a sheltered girl who would be scarred for life, hiding from war of all sorts and become useless to Britannia, what would he do if this were to happen?

All the greater if she displayed the ruthlessness that was necessary to rule a nation afterwards, but what would he do if she broke? A waste of potential it would be, and that was exactly why he was afraid.

If by any chance the plans for the Ragnarok Connection is interrupted, he sincerely hoped that Luna vi Britannia would be the one to lead after him and fulfill both his and Marianne's dearest wish.

Little did he know that there was a surprise waiting for him.

One night. V.V was enjoying the moon's company outisde Aries Villa near a tree where he and Charles used to hide after Marianne's outbursts. As he took a sip of his tea, he heard footsteps approach him from his left, his eyes widened as he realised who it was.

 _What? How did I not notice her-no, how does she even know me and how did she know I was here?_

V.V was beginning to panic. He couldn't memory rush his brother's favourite child, in fact he was more afraid of dealing with Marianne than Charles afterwards if he did.

"So this is where you usually hang out." The figure said with a smirk.

Seeing his surprised expression, Luna vi Britannia began to chuckle. "I saw you with father the other day, you resemble uncle Victor a lot, are you related?"

 _And she knows I'm his uncle as well, didn't Charles wipe my existence from the database?_

"ah, yes, My name is Vincent zi Britannia, remaining child of my father."

The girl pondered for a second before smiling. "I see, what are you doing out here?"

"Enjoying the moon and thinking about father." _Utterly bullshit, but should work on a child._

Instead of questioning further, the girl sat next to him and looked up towards the sky. He hadn't expected the company, but it didn't matter nonetheless. He was experienced dealing with the children in the Geass Order, so he knew that he couldn't carelessly scare the other party off as it would lead to complications if they ever happened to meet again, which was highly likely considering that the girl in front of him was his brother's favourite one out of all his children. Luna only broke the silence after a minute or so.

"Do you think supernatural powers exist?" the nature of the question surprised V.V.

"Yes, I believe the supernatural is all around us, yet we are only blind to it. Our wishes and hopes only fuel it." Though it was a meager response, it should be a sufficient response befitting the child he was currently acting as. What Luna said next however, shocked him.

"Quite a belief, yet I have a different one. I believe that special individuals are granted supernatural powers to balance the inequality in power around the world. People associate such powers with heroes and happiness, yet I believe that such power would only bring the curse of solitude to a person. They would be shunned and would never live the life they had hoped for."

V.V's back was now sweating from the girls words. The surprising accuracy of her belief to the reality of Geass was shocking to the say the least, to a point where he even believed that the girl had knowledge of Geass and Codes. Such thoughts swiftly left his mind as he realised just how ludicrous those claims would be.

Then suddenly, an idea dawned on him.

 _What if I grant her a Geass now and control her, that way we have a new powerful piece to play with and it saves Charles the trouble of explaining Geass to her later._ He reviewed the plan in his head for a moment before revealing an evil smile unbeknownst to Luna.

"What would you do if I can grant such power." He said, causing Luna to look at him in shock, before returning to her usual expression, confirming that she didn't know the reality yet.

"Then I would gladly take it to save others the burden of carrying the role.." _Perfect._

"Then I have an offer, accept this contract, and while you live in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other human, a different providence, a different time, the power of king will isolate you, if you are prepared for it, then use that power, but once you do there will be no turning back. Are you prepared?"

V.V was currently madly grinning to himself inside his head. He would have to hide the fact that he gave Luna a Geass until Charles decides to incorporate her in his plans, but it was worth the effort now that he had a powerful ally on his side in case of an emergency. Though he didn't yet know the nature of the Geass that would take form, he was certain that it would be powerful after the last few years he spent observing Charles and the child.

"Fine, I accept this contract." The girl said whilst smiling. Little did V.V know that he had just signed a contract with a devil.

After blinking for a few seconds, she decided to head back to the palace in fear of her mother giving her a mouthful later on for sneaking outside the castle after a goodbye to V.V. After escaping from V.V's eyesight, the girl began chuckling to herself with an evil grin.

"With this, uncle, it's a check" She muttered to herself before running back to the palace (Yes, running, you heard me).

* * *

And that's the first chapter!

This story was inspired by Enduring Retribution by Xlerons, Rise of a New Moon by our favourite Frostbringer and another story that I read a while back on this site, thanks to all three for their wonderful fictions for giving me this idea.

This is not a fem!lelouch redo story, Lelouch himself will be taking on a completely new role, so you can look forward to that. I have yet to ship any characters, nor plan romance atm, but we will see how it turns out.

This is also not a time travel fic (only), but also an alternate universe fic, as many events are different to the previous CG world.

Since Britannia's system of determining the position of princes and princesses is very confusing (considering that Marrybel and Euphemia share very similar birth dates yet are 3rd and 88th princesses respectively) I decided to give Luna the position of 8th princess.

The story starts 8 years prior for a reason which will be revealed in following chapters, so please stay tune!

Also, I simply didn't put in another recount of Code Geass's last scene, as I find that it's simply a way to lengthen the chapter and since every time travel/alternate universe fic starts of in the same way, simply skipped to Lelouch being killed.

I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters. Luna vi Britannia here is not the one in Rise of a New Moon, I'm simply using the name as I found it perfectly fitting.

See you all next time~


	2. Chapter 2 - Birth of a Demon

1999, Aries Villa

The usually peaceful Aries Palace was now overun by maids and servants. It was an important date for the crown, as a new candidate for the throne was to be born this very day. Luna vi Britannia was currently waiting outside the operation rooming awaiting the results.

She currently had several theories as to what could happen. It was no coincidence that this was the very day of her former birthday, December 5th of 1999. If her first theory was correct, then the child was going to be Nunnally vi Britannia, taking his place in this timeline in terms of age. Her second theory was that this could simply be another child altogether, one unique to this timeline. If this was the case, then it would be slightly more difficult for Luna to accustom himself to his new family, as he was all too familiar with the times he spent with only Nunnally and himself. He was worried that a new family member would cause a rift instead of a bond.

As he was thinking, one of the surgeons opened the doors and signaled her in, meaning that the operation was complete. As he entered the room, he was temporarily blinded by the operating lights, but walked forwards nonetheless as if unfazed. It was important to keep up the image that she had built over the last eight years as a flawless character, which was critical to the master plan that would play out over the next decade.

As she entered, he noticed that Charles was nowhere to be seen- as expected of course. Why should he be here when he had 107 more consorts to attend do? She let out a silent snort that went unnoticed by the people in the room as she walked over to his mother. Though she hadn't expected Charles to be here, he had hoped that it would be different as the person in question was Marianne, his favourite consort and the only one that he trusted completely.

as Marianne saw Luna approach, she smiled and beckoned him over. "Look Luna, it's your new brother."

As she said this, Luna paused for a second to think.

 _A brother? Then that means the second theory was correct then... Nunnally..._

Sadness overwhelmed her mind for a moment as she realised that the child would not be the sister that she was looking forward to seeing again after so many years. The sadness then turned into loneliness, before finally settling down.

 _Guess I'll have to make do with this then..._

she then walked over to her mother with a smile as she looked over at her new brother. A set of violet eyes gazed upon her with curiosity. She couldn't help but smile as she held the child in her arms.

"What's his name, mother?"

"Your father and I decided to name him Lelouch, Lelouch vi Britannia, 11th prince of the Holy Empire of Britannia."

Luna froze in shock as she ignored her mother's confused expression due to her reaction.

 _Wait, could I have been wrong all this time?_

 _Perhaps, the march of time is not the anomaly in this world..._

 _It's my, Luna vi Britannia's, existence._

* * *

Pendragon G-4 Outpost, 2001

"Arachnid to G-4, requesting permission for parking."

" _Copy that, Hanger 4 is ready for parking"_

A red and black knightmare swiftly rushed through the opened gates of the hanger. The knightmare sped to the back of the hanger before performing a skillful spin with its customised landspinners before stopping right atop the designated parking location. The cockpit hissed open as a black figure donning a black and gold pilot outfit jumped out.

"Quite the performance out there, you peaked at 92.2% with the lowest being 90.2% during startup. Congratulations, Your Highness, you are now officially an ace."

The man who spoke was Earl Elenn Asplund, director of the Specialised Knightmare Corps (SKS) which strived to make breakthrough and improvements for new Knightmare models. The model that the royalty was using was named the _Arachnid_ due to its similarity to the Ganymede's gaudy design. It's sleek black features resembling that of a spider waiting for its prey. It was officially the first specialist third-generation Knightmare Frame, being more capable in every way compared to the currently test-phase mass production model _Glasgow_.

Since simulations had yet to be fully developed, testing was carried out through a physical Frame at training grounds.

The small black figure simply returned the Earl's gaze with an indifferent expression. If one looked carefully, the person in question was in fact quite short, only around 145cm tall. One would raise their brows at this if the pilot wasn't the 8th Princess of Britannia, Luna vi Britannia. At a tender age of 10, she had already broke the record for fastest time to reach ace status, destroying the previous record by a half decade.

To a commoner, the achievement would be something to revere, but to Luna, it was something bound to happen.

In her previous life, He had mastered all the technical attributes of a Knightmare Frame, yet could only reach an efficiency rate of 75% at max due to his poor physical condition. A Knightmare Frame's performance depended heavily on the pilot's ability to sustain the stress output. If the body was not strong enough, then the Knightmare Frame would correspond with the same level of performance. If Lelouch had a similar build to Suzaku at the time of his rebellion, then he could have reached ace status almost effortlessly.

It was also due to this reason that Luna was trying to bring her body to its limits before she commenced the operation that she had planned out over the years.

As she walked over to the change rooms, she was suddenly tackled from behind. She initially stood her ground, but another tackle suddenly came from the side, throwing her off balance as she turned her head towards the two figures that had just appeared. There were few who could truly disorientate her with just hugs, and amongst those were Nonette Enneagram and Cornelia li Britannia.

"Lulu, why didn't you tell us that you were come to train~ we would've cheered you on, right Nellie?" The champagne haired girl called out with a playful voice.

"hmhm, indeed, why didn't you tell us? And I heard the Earl congratulating you, broke a record again?" The purple haired girl nodded in agreement.

Luna couldn't help but smile at the two. Though Cornelia and Nonette were some of her most feared enemies during the war, they were now just 11 and 12 year old children respectively who were the kind sister figures they used to be when Lelouch was a child. Seeing the three chatting playfully, the surrounding engineers also smiled, brightening the mood.

Most of Pendragon knew of the three. All were aspiring pilots and geniuses. Cornelia li Britannia was a bright child with a head for tactics and strategy, along with the physical gift of calmness and brilliant decision-making. Some were already speculating that she would be a crucial member of the Britannian military the moment she reached the age of service.

Nonette Enneagram was an ever bigger wild card, reaching an unexpected score of 87% by the age of ten, putting her at the ranks of an elite in terms of piloting ability. She was training in multiple forms of combat including fire-arms, and bets were already put down on when she would become a Rounds- emphasis on when, not will.

The most interesting however, was Luna vi Britannia. The youngest of the three yet possibly the most feared. The girl remained practically indifferent no matter the situation, and had one of the most gifted brains of the generation. Completely demolishing prince Schneizel in chess, who was regarded as the God of Chess amongst those that had tried to challenge him. At the age of eight, she had already beaten all 13 command simulations the Britannian military had to offer. Following her mother, the renowned Commoner Empress, Marianne vi Britannia, she was also one of the most gifted Knightmare pilots to date.

Almost immediately after touching a Knightmare Frame, the child had grasped all of its controls as if it were a part of her body. In fact, some argued that the only thing keeping the child from reaching perfection was her physical condition, and there were no small number of people who believed this.

To Britannia, the three were known as 'The Three Musketeers'.

"Actually, I just maintained a performance above 90% throughout the _Knighting Course_." Luna said with a smirk. The two froze in shock as she said so.

"W-wait, you maintained 90% for the whole two hour exercise!?" Exclaimed Cornelia.

"Doesn't that make you an ace?" She then proceeded to say.

"Pretty muc-OUC!"

As Luna was replying, she was suddenly chopped on her head by a hand whilst simultaneously being tac-hugged by Nonette.

"We need to hold a celebration then, YOOHOO! Tomorrow night, no excuses, I'll be expecting both of ya~ Let's go do a few laps around Aries Villa before we head for dinner, shall we?"

Both Luna and Cornelia sighed as they nodded their head in resignment. They both knew that there was no use trying to say no to Nonette, even if you were the Emperor himself. As the three began to head for the door, a voice brought them to a halt.

"Well well, if it isn't our own three musketeers."

The Emperor's voice boomed through the hanger as the engineers stared in shock ,before dropping to their knees following the three children.

""Your Majesty"" The three said with their head bowed and one knee on the floor, showing respect to the emperor. Charles zi Britannia was evidently impressed by the discipline and grinned.

"You may rise" He said as three followed the order. He then looked over to Luna before speaking again.

"Congratulations on your achievement, Luna vi Britannia, you have proven yourself as the strong and I firmly believe that you will be an important asset to Britannia in the future, you have my blessing." He said, shocking the crowd. The Emperor was known to be a cold, ruthless leader, viewing his own children as pawns and pieces to be used. He wouldn't hesitate to throw them away upon finding them useless. It was unheard of for him to give anyone his blessing.

Luna, however, still remained indifferent.

"I thank your Majesty for your compliments, I will make sure to live up to your expectations." she said.

"And I will expect no less." He replied, "Do accompany me to Aries Villa, I was going to go visit Marianne."

The three responded with enthusiasm and followed behind Charles as he left the hanger, destroying the tense atmosphere that had formed with his presence. Luna, now changed into her regular clothes which were tailored for ease of movement, lead the other two from the front.

The journey went uninterrupted, until the surrounding area's atmosphere dropped by a few degrees, making Nonette and Cornelia feel uneasy. Luna simply looked around, attempting to find the source of the uneasiness.

Suddenly, a figure dropped from directly overhead towards Charles with a knife in his left hand. Both Nonette and Cornelia gasped as they ran forward, fully knowing that it would be too late even if they made it.

Just as the figure was about to make contact with the emperor, who himself was as calm as nature, almost as if he was under no threat, Luna launched forward and caught the figure's arm, before directly throwing it overheard and slamming it towards the ground. Her face slightly distorted due to the stress on her arms, which were yet at a level which could handle such weight, but she continued to kick down on the assassin's arm, which resulted in a cracking sound and the arm going limp, dropping the weapon in the process.

The Emperor seemed pleased with her performance, and began to open his mouth to speak-

"Good work Lun*BAM*-!?"

The Emperor looked forward in shock as he saw his daughter with a firearm in her hand, directly aimed at the assailant's head with a light amount of smoke originating from the muzzle. A streak of red slowly descended from now revealed man's forehead as his hands went limp instantly. The two girls stared at Luna in shock as they just realised that she had killed the man without the slightest hesitation.

The Emperor stared in silence for a moment before questioning Luna with a stern expression.

"Why did you shoot, Luna?"

"He was weak, therefore he died, isn't that the law of the world?" The girl calmly said with a small streak of blood sprayed across her face.

The two stared at each other for a moment as Cornelia and Nonette held their breath as if they would drown in the tension. The tension suddenly disappeared as the Emperor began to laugh heartedly.

"Exactly right, what you said is correct indeed, you certainly are a daughter of mine AHAHAAHAHA."

The two stared in disbelief at the scene whilst Luna looked forward with no visible emotion as if expecting the reaction. In fact, she had planned her action and response beforehand to prove his loyalty usefulness to Charles.

She had known that Charles was skeptical that she would be of use in the future as she had yet to display the key quality required to be useful in his eyes, ruthlessness. Despite her display of skill and intellect, if she could not help further his ambitions, then he would gladly throw her away before she became a problem to handle.

The appearance of the assailant was the perfect opportunity to prove herself to the Emperor both her loyalty and conviction, and it seemed to have the right effect. She had noticed that Charles' eyes lit up the moment the assailant appeared, ready to use his Geass if she had failed him, but he had worried for nothing.

After the Emperor was satisfied with the result, he turned around again and moved towards the Aries Palace, only after handing Luna a handkerchief to wipe the blood off her face. Nonette and Cornelia began to feel nauseous as they looked at the dead body that was simply left there as if he were insignificant. It was their first time seeing a dead body up close, and no matter how hardened a mind was, it was impossible for barely decade old children to not throw up upon seeing one for the first time. They wondered how Luna could look so indifferent whilst being younger than them.

"Alright, let's go, we don't want to keep the Emperor waiting." Luna said whilst wiping the blood off her face.

The two could only nod as they resolved themselves for the road they were taking. The moment they decided to move towards the road of military service, they knew that deaths would be a common thing, especially for a nation such as Britannia, but it was still early for people their age, no matter how much of a prodigy they were. Luna sighed seeing the two acting so distant, there was nothing they could do, and only time could heal the horrors of death. It had taken him several months, even years to recover from the shock of seeing her mother's death in the previous world. It would be wrong of him to expect anything else from Cornelia and Nonette.

But perhaps, this would serve as a reminder to two that they were heading towards the path of bloodshed, and that there would be no return.

Yet she saw in their eyes, unwavering conviction, which told her that no matter what she did, the two were destined for their roles in the world.

 _Perhaps time really is linear,_ she sighed to herself as she walked towards the waiting Emperor.

* * *

Hello everyone, and here's the second chapter~

Some may ask why Luna wants to be in top physical shape before the commencing of the plan, please wait and see, as it is actually pretty obvious once you hear it.

This chapter mainly highlights his current condition and status in the world, along with his relationship with some of the characters. I personally really liked Nonette's character from the story, and I felt like giving her a good role in this FF and she will most likely appear quite alot later on aswell. Cornelia was also a character that I heavily enjoyed reading about, and seeing that the three were of similar age, might aswell put them into a group similar to Suzaku, Lelouch and Nunnally. More character interactions to come, including the birth of a certain princess in the next chapter or the one after.

Also a tease on Luna's future personal Knightmare, but that is to be revealed in the future of course.

Luna's new Geass will also be revealed in the future, but it is not yet the time to do so, as it is better to reveal it in a more sticky situation.


	3. Chapter 3 - Promises

Aries Villa, 2006

Luna vi Britannia sat atop the grassy hill, smiling whilst watching two smaller figures running around through the fields, one with sandy-brown hair and the other pink. The three year old child, Nunnally vi Britannia carried a small basket in her hand whilst running around gleefully whilst the older girl, namely Euphemia li Britannia, was trying to catch her whilst panting.

It was one thing to see Nunnally run around on her own two legs, but it was another to see Euphemia well and alive. Every time she glanced at her, the thread of guilt that had balanced over his consciousness would tingle, and a wave of sorrow would overcome her. Over the last three years, the feeling had died down, but it was still present, though minor.

Cornelia was on the other side of the hill, happily chatting with both Marianne and her mother without a care in the world, whilst Lelouch was resting beside Luna with the same expression as herself, blissful and satisfied.

"Hey sis, do you think that we will live like this forever?" He asked suddenly, causing her to look back in surprise."

"No, times will change, and so will our lives. In fact, I believe that we won't even be able to spend three more years like this." She replied, with severe foreshadowing that Lelouch completely missed.

"Military service huh, will we get to see you after you leave the homeland?" He asked with his head hung. Over the years, the now seven year old child had grown increasingly attached to her, practically elevating her to the same status as Marianne in his eyes. To him, both loved him dearly and were prime role models. Though it wasn't exactly planned, it wasn't an undesired effect either, there was no one that didn't like the affection of another sibling, such as her bond with Nunnally in the previous world.

Since the birth of Nunnally, the events were practically the same as her previous world. Lelouch's first meeting with Milly and Ruben Ashford was pretty much the same, except with the addition of herself becoming more acquainted with Ruben.

The official announcement five years ago containing the details of her rise to ace pilot status had resulted with varied reactions. Most nobles were, simply put, pissed that the 'Commoner Princess' was regarded so highly by the Emperor, whilst others in the royal family and military were glad to have an a new astounding figure that could bring Britannia glory and greatness. It was no simple chance that she could reach a permanent performance of above 95% in a specialised frame at the age of 15.

There had been over a few dozen attempts at her life in the last five years, all to no avail as the assailants were killed by Luna herself without hesitation or any form of mercy, sparking debate amongst few who claimed that the child was possessed by a demon- all who mysteriously vanished after Charles showed his disproval of their words.

"No guarantees, but I'll try my best to see you after I'm gone." She said whilst brushing her hands across his raven hair. She had only just realised how fun it was tease people, giving her a new view as to why Milly and CC were so hell-bent on annoying him at every opportunity.

The temperature dropped a few degrees as Lelouch's expression turned from pleasant to depressed. Luna brought her hand back sensing the mood change and tried to determine the cause, until he spoke up.

"Do you really... have to kill everyone that comes after you?" He asked whilst trembling, evident in his voice.

Luna sighed, "People make choices, and every choice has a cost. If those who aim for my life fail to see that cost, then they have no right to complain even in death."

"Bu-" He tried to add.

"The only ones who should kill are those prepared to kill." She said, effectively shutting off any counter-arguments from Lelouch, who stared at her with wide eyes.

"Then does that mean... you are prepared to die?" he asked.

 _I've already died,_ she mused to herself before replying.

"Always, who knows when I might fail to protect myself."

"...Promise me that you'll be there when I need you."

Though a normal person would answer immediately, it was difficult for Luna to make such a promise whilst knowing what would occur in the coming years. Her plan already ensured that they would be separated in just a few years time.

Yet she was a master at lying. If one thought they had uncovered one of her lies, they would soon realise that that was also a lie. She held back the guilt in her next few words and stared at her former self intently.

"I promise."

"pinky promise?"

Luna almost gasped in shock at his words. The guilt he felt the last time he promised Nunnally still remained, she wasn't ready to do the same thing again.

"Sorry, I think Earl Asplund will be looking for me, see you around."

Leaving behind a shocked Lelouch who was grinding his teeth in frustration, I stood up and headed towards the exit of the villa. She looked back towards the hills meaningfully. She may have betrayed his trust with this, but it was necessary. The last thing he wanted to make was an empty promise that he couldn't keep yet again.

 _If I could, I would love to spend a few more years with you two, but it seems my time is also running out here._

She opened her phone and let the SKS headquarters know that she was on her way before making her way towards the training grounds.

* * *

C's world, 2008

A lone child looked forward towards the endless abyss and thought elevator which towered over all of creation itself. His eyes unfocused and mind deep in thought, snapping out of it only after being called from behind.

"Brother, fancy seeing you here." The voice called.

"Charles, my brother, it's been a while." VV replied.

"Nothing of the sort, what has your orphanage been up to so far?" The Emperor asked with a hint of sarcasm.

VV raised his brows over the fact that Charles had called the Geass Order that he had carefully developed over the years an orphanage. Though he was partially correct through the fact that the Geass Order only took in orphans, the place was far from what modern people called an 'orphanage'.

"How's the child holding up?" He asked whilst evading the former question.

"Surprisingly well as usual, she just topped a 98.9% on the Glasgow model. Don't know if I should be surprised anymore, it is my child after all AHAHAHA."

The Emperor let out a hearty laugh as VV only sighed. Over the years, he couldn't detect Luna using her Geass at all, which meant one of two things. Either she completely ignored her power, or it was a stealth type which couldn't be detected. He genuinely hoped that it was the former, since if the child possessed a stealth type Geass, it could pose a problem for him in the future. Considering that Charles favoured her over all his other children by a large margin and Marianne basically pampered her to no end, it wouldn't be as simple as killing her if she turned against him.

A stealth type Geass was essentially one that couldn't be detected by the contractor once used. He had only met three people including Luna that possessed this type of Geass out of the hundreds of contracts he signed from the day he received his code.

Due to this, he had no idea what sort of Geass the child possessed. With the added bonus of the indifferent expression the child always wore with her iron personality that never wavered, it was near impossible to guess the nature of her Geass as well.

"Where's CC? I haven't seen her around this week."

"He should be hanging around Marianne at Aries, She might meet my daughter at this rate, though I'll have to warn her to keep her hands off her in case she decides that she's a good contractor. The last thing I need is for her to have a Geass." Charles replied.

VV only shrugged as he turned back towards the abyss, a way of telling Charles that there was nothing left to discuss as of the moment. Seeing this, the Emperor shrugged aswell with a smile and left C's world.

 _Damn, I'm getting paranoid about her Geass, I might need to eliminate her along with Marianne soon, even if it means earning Charles' hatred._

* * *

Aries Palace, 2008

As Luna made her way back from training, she frowned as she noticed a shadow pop out from across the corridor of the palace. It was midnight, and there were few who would still be awake at this hour except the servants, who were prohibited from entering the living quarters from 11o'clock onwards unless directly commanded or during emergencies, narrowing the potential visitor to only a handful of people. The lustrous hair that shone even at night surprised Luna, as she realised who it was.

 _It's been quite a while... CC,_ she thought to herself as the green haired witch approached her. Luna's own features had matured over the 17 years she had spent in this world. She was no longer a child, and possessed features that many would regard as charming. Unlike Euphemia's cute and fluffy type of beauty, hers was a different, fear-inducing form of beauty.

She herself mostly refused to use makeup (which, even if she did use, barely would create impact on her appearance), yet still possessed the graceful features of her mother along with her father's despicable violet eyes which brought fear to all those who she looked at. Her raven hair reached just below her shoulders whilst her domineering posture, honed through a decade of experience, truly gave those who believed she was a target a second thought.

She outright refused to wear gaudy dresses even to ceremonies, and usually dressed in a black and gold three-piece dress and cape resembling zero's costume in her last life, specifically designed to be both appropriate for ceremonies whilst not hindering movement.

Despite all this, the witch advanced further towards her, half-expecting Luna to react aggressively, who to the witch's surprise, simply allowed her to advance with a smile on her face, as if knowing that she wasn't a enemy even though they shouldn't have met beforehand.

 _Interesting, Charles was right when he said this one was special,_ CC mused to herself.

"Perhaps the Witch of Britannia has business with me." Luna smiled calmly.

CC froze in shock before taking a step back on reflex. It had been far too long since someone had called her that, no one should've known her past title granted to her by her worst enemy. By the look on Luna's face even after her exaggerated reaction, it was clear that this was no coincidence.

"How do you know of that?" She scowled.

"Ask God, but what use would that be after you slay it?" She asked again, this time her amusement clearly displayed on her face.

 _No, she knows too much, did Charles and Marianne tell her? No, it's still too early, and VV isn't one to gossip either, this is becoming dangerous, I need to wipe her memory before she learns too much._

Ignoring her own emotions, she rushed towards the raven haired girl hoping to at the very least touch her in order to wipe her memory and possibly learn how she knew what she had known. Even though she was several centuries old, her body never developed even if she learnt several forms of hand to hand combat, meaning that she was limited in her mobility and there was no possible way for her to catch up to Luna, who had trained since a very young age. Though this was the case, the condition for victory was very open-simply touching her was enough for her to access Luna's memories, which then would result in her victory.

Seeing Luna making no attempts to dodge or evade, she smirked believing in her victory. she felt her hand grip onto Luna's arm, but then she noticed that something was wrong, _Very wrong._

She couldn't feel, sense nor find anything. In fact, she could say that her power simply didn't work, yet she knew that such a thing was impossible as the code's power was absolute.

"A warning would've been nice, don't you think so too, witch?" Luna brought one hand to her chin and lifted it up, forcing both of them to look each other in the eyes. CC gasped in shock as she saw that both of Luna's eyes were crimson red with a bird sigil under the iris, a Geass.

 _A stealth based Geass that I couldn't detect, and also has the ability to overrule a memory invasion? How'd she even get a Geass, let alone a fully evolved one in the first place!?_ She asked herself, but there was only one answer - VV.

"I would prefer if you kept quiet about this, my witch, the stage is still missing a performer and that performer is not yet ready. Be patient, ****" She leaned in and whispered the last word into her left ear before slapping her on the shoulder and disappearing off into her own chamber.

CC simply stood there, mouth agape and shocked at the events that had just transpired. She had never met a Geass that could overrule a code, it was too much of a coincidence. It meant either of two things; the Geass was a direct memory interference one, which simply had the ability of stopping a memory invasion, or it was a much more powerful one capable of much more. Seeing that it was fully evolved, it meant that Luna had certainly used it a lot over the years.

Since it wasn't every day that a person would experience a memory invasion, simple elimination of possibilities meant that his Geass was of the passive protection nature, a powerful one at that.

But more importantly-

"How the hell does she know my name?" She muttered to herself, still in a daze as the moonlight crept through the window and reflected off her bright.

Ashford Estate, 2008

* * *

"That will be the end of your training, are you alright _Aneue_?"

Luna vi Britannia was currently at the Ashford Estate for her weekly training session with Sayoko, who was ironically now younger than her. She had been skeptical of her a decade ago when she first appeared at the estate and outright refused to train a Britannian in the arts of her family, but soon opened up to her (soon = 3 years).

After finding out that Luna was fluent in Japanese and knew much of their tradition, she began to trust him and reluctantly teach her, first beginning with hand to hand combat before moving on to swords and throwing knives and kunais.

Though her parents were also skeptical that a foreign art could be better than Britannian techniques, they caved after Luna's constant begging which went on for several months. Luna knew better than anyone else that Sayoko's skills were top-class. Her techniques and skills proved far superior to the Britannian OSI and agents that went after them during the war and after, ultimately convincing Luna that it was a necessity to hold her own in the future once she left Pendragon.

Since two years ago, Sayoko had grown exceptionally fond of the princess , and began addressing her as _Aneue_ out of respect, no hint of sarcasm in her voice- only respect and admiration. Luna had never dreamed that she could become a sister figure to the maid that she had cherished so much in her previous life, but due to this she also developed a new level of gratitude for all the things she had done and would do for Lelouch and Nunnally in this world.

To Luna's wildest pleasure, she even learned the technique that allowed her to literally disappear and appear out of thin air around the house which led to various unnecessary frights back in the days.

"Thanks Sayo, I'll be fine," she replied with lips curved upwards, "This will likely be our last time seeing each other since I'll be leaving next year, I'll make sure to visit you when I have the chan-HMPF!?"

She was suddenly tackled by the teenage Sayoko who was in her ninja garbs. Luna simply opened and closed her mouth, unable to find the right words to say.

The two stood there silently for what seemed like hours, until Sayoko finally loosened her grip and looked up at Luna with teary eyes.

"Good luck _Aneue,_ Promise me that you'll come visit." She said after separating from Luna.

"Right, Promise- and also, please look after Lelouch and Nunnally whilst I'm gone. Though I can't tell you why, I believe that something bad will occur in the coming years, and I leave it to you to make sure that the two are the happiest they can be. Until then, Sayonara."

"Right, Sayonara."

Unbeknownst to the two, an old man was looking at the two from a platform above with a pleasant expression. He had heard the little conversation between the two.

"It seems that she's grown quite attached to you, you better return that promise," he muttered under his breath, "If anything happens, I will take it to myself to make sure those two are safe." He said before turning around and leaving the balcony.

Hello people! welcome to the third chapter of The Dubious Moon.

Enjoy more character building as the dreaded year of 2009 approaches~. The year of Marianne's death and the year of our favourite siblings' exile. Look forward to what is to come next, as the story will follow a different route than the original, even though the main sequence of events will be generally the same.

Luna vi Britannia has a different Geass than before, this is to be expected as the situation of receiving the Geass, their goals, drives to succeed and mindset are all different. The nature of his Geass may seem confusing at first, but it is heavily linked to the amount of despair he experienced near the end of R2.

Question: Will Rai be a part of this story

Answer: Not sure. Haven't read up much on the character except on other FF's but I'm coming to like his character. If he will be introduced, it will be quite a bit into the future when our character's are finally caught up with the beginning of the anime's events.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you did please add a review, until then, see you all next time~


	4. Chapter 4 - Night of Full Moon

C's World, 2009

 _It's time,_ The childish figure thought as he checked the clips on his gun.

 _Enough to kill them, I'm sorry... Marianne, Charles._

Without another thought, the figure exited C's world and headed straight for Marianne's residence.

* * *

Aries Villa, 2009

"That was so fun, how about we go again?"

An women, three children and a raven haired lady were making their way up the palace stairs as the pink haired child called out. Nunnally and Euphy had begged Marianne to take them to the Pendragon Capital as they had spent most of their lives in the imperial villas. In fact, it would be correct to say that they didn't know the world outside the villas due to the tight security on royalty who were yet at an age where they could protect themselves.

Euphy, Nunnally and Lelouch were allowed to go to Avalon, second largest city of the Britannian homeland other than Pendragon itself, as long as Marianne and Luna, who was now 18, accompanied them. Since most of Pendragon was business, the two had felt that the three children would appreciate a visit to the entertainment and tourist capital of the homeland more than the Holy Capital.

The five were out the whole day, meaning that it was now currently midnight. There was still three weeks until the opera, meaning that Luna still had a bit more time to spend with her family until the inevitable.

"Sure, I'll take you all there again in three weeks after the Opera, how about it?"

""Yeeeessss!""

The combined cheerful cries of the children sent ripples through both Marianne and Luna's hearts.

She had observed Marianne for close to two decades now, and could find no traces of the cold-heartedness she felt in C's world upon the completion of the Sword of Akasha. Perhaps she really did love her children, did something change her since Lelouch and Nunnally were banished? perhaps she would never find out.

As the five were heading up the stairs, she noticed a figure move from behind the second pillar closest to the entrance to her left. At first, she would view it as something insignificant if it weren't for the fact that her mother had specifically withdrawn all her guards including servants and maids. This meant that it could be either of two things - intruder or assassin.

As she turned her head, her mother's eyes followed her gaze out of curiosity. Both of them gasped as their eyes widened in shock for different reasons as they saw a petite blond figure holding a sub-machine gun and pointed right at them.

 _Impossible! it's still too early- no, I was careless, if this is an alternate universe to my original, then my existence may have made VV desperate enough to act early._ It bugged Luna that she hadn't planned for something so obvious, yet there was no time to think of all her possible choices now, she would simply have to commence the plan ahead of schedule

In that split-second, Marianne attempted to grab Luna and shield her from the incoming bullets. From her desperate expression, it was clear that she did indeed care for their lives. Luna could only smile knowing that even if her mother turned out to be a monster, she was a mother at heart.

Before Marianne could reach her, Luna reached out and pushed her mother down behind her along with all three of the children. The risks were to high since there were now four targets to defend, forcefully pushing them down was the best way to avoid any stray bullets as VV was aiming from below them. Her left arm reached for the inside of her cape and procured a small pistol she always kept with her in case of emergencies.

 _What a waste, the child could've done so much for our plan._ Thought VV as he pitied the princess that was now sacrificing her life for Marianne and the others, yet no matter how much he assured himself of victory, something felt _terribly_ wrong here. He couldn't ascertain what until Luna looked towards him with a smile - and both eyes covered by Geass.

 _IMPOSSIBLE!_ VV screamed inside his head as he took a step back. For an immortal such as himself, there was nothing that he had to fear, except a Geass user, who's contractor happened to be himself, who also happened to have a fully evolved Geass.

As he saw the smile on Luna's face, he realised that this had all been a trap, an elaborate one at that set for him, and he had walked right into it. He opened fire without hesitation.

 _Die, die, DIE._

By now, he was already desperate. Countless holes were present on the princess' body as his machine gun continued to roar. The girl took all the bullets as if they were nothing as she brought her pistol up even though all her internal organs should've been damaged beyond repair by now. Yet, the smile did not fade as the pistol was now leveled and aimed straight at his forehead. His machinegun was already empty, and out of desperation he took out a pistol and aimed it straight at Luna to finish her off.

In that instant, two shots rang out. One landed right on VV's code sigil, whilst the other hit Luna straight in the forehead.

 _No..._

That was all VV could think of before all traces of his code disappeared from his body as he fell onto his knees, then onto the floor- lifeless. An OSI agent swiftly appeared and took the body before anyone else noticed, before completely disappearing.

As for Luna... With the last shot to her forehead, the Geass sigil completely dissipated as she lifelessly fell onto her back, before rolling down the stairs in her own pool of blood. Though no one noticed, a small, barely noticeable bird sigil engraved itself at the bottom of her neck.

"L-Luna, are y-you-?" Marianne's voice trembled as she moved over to her daughter's body. Moments later, her sobs became clearer as she literally screamed for help. The three children simply laid on the floor, shocked and unable to say anything. All three were trembling, scared - refusing to believe what had just occurred.

Moments later, a medic team along with Cornelia and Nonette rushed in. The two had stood on standby as Cornelia was officially called off for the night whilst Nonette just like sticking around her. The two ran over, stomachs turning as they saw a pool of blood around Marianne. They simply assumed that Marianne was injured, but the reality was far worse.

Upon seeing Luna's lifeless body, Nonette threw up the remains of her dinner whilst Cornelia dropped to her knees beside the mutilated corpse. There was no part of her body that wasn't stained by blood. A large hole was present on her forehead with countless more scattered over her body.

Desperately, she checked for a pulse, only to find that the body was already cold; no pulse, not even a sound came from the body.

Soon, more personnel arrived as the guards literally had to force Marianne and Cornelia to hand over Luna's corpse. Seeing that it was already hopeless, she went over to the three children and ushered them upstairs. Nunnally had already fainted, leaving Nonette to carry her. No one made a sound until they had reached the very top, where the two musketeers heard the torn mother mutter to herself-

"Damn VV, I'll personally kill you if you decide to show your face to me ever again!"

Lelouch and Euphemia- no, not even Cornelia and Nonette had ever seen the former Knight of Six so angry in her life, almost as if it was a completely different person.

"Nonette, Cornelia, take care of the children, I need to have a word with my husband and that little brat."

Though the two didn't know who she was referring to, they simply nodded and stayed silent.

The night would forever be remembered as the 'Night of Full Moon', in remembrance of the brilliant daughter of Marianne vi Britannia who had earned the recognition of even those who detested Marianne's commoner upbringing.

* * *

Hey people~

sorry for the short chapter today (shortest thing I'll ever write probably), I simply found it simpler to end the chapter like this instead of continuing on with the story, it simply felt wrong and kind of ruined the built up effect. Other reason is I'm not gonna have much time to write this weekend, so I'll try to release the good part now in case I don't make it in time for the next chapter.

As far as I'm aware, all that's needed to take a Code is a fully evolved Geass user killing the contractor.

Hope you look forward to the journey the characters will take up to the anime's beginning, where things will get interesting.

Her full Geass effect has been displayed, but not explained. Explanation comes next chapter when it's in her POV again.

until then, please leave a review and enjoy~

Anyways, cya


	5. Chapter 5 - Escape

Imperial Morgue 2009

As Luna's eyes slowly opened, a piercing pain hit her as if her head was splitting open. She refrained from making unnecessary sounds in case a person was nearby as it would single-handedly compromise the plan she had spent decades implementing. After a minute or so, the pain dissipated, allowing her to finally take in her surroundings. A clip was attached to her eyes, possibly to force the eyes down as the dead can't do it themselves. It also confirmed that she had died, like planned. The clips were annoyingly difficult to take off, so she simply resorted to tearing it off along with her eyelid.

It wouldn't matter anyways since it would immediately regenerate, but it was painful to bear. Her former Geass, the Power of Absolute Tolerance, allowed her to completely endure all forms of pain and interference, including a memory invasion. It started off as simple pain absorption, dulling the sense of pain, allowing her to take on the assassin from eight years ago without succumbing to the pain in her arms when she forcefully launched him with only a single arm.

She mostly resorted to self-harm to develop the Geass to a full runaway and eventually a fully evolved version during the time they had. Since she was technically underage according to Britannian laws, she couldn't undergo any type of training that would result in her being wounded gravely, leaving her only a few options to test the Geass.

It began with simply hitting a wall with her fists until they bled, and eventually lead to cutting her arm with a pocketknife she always kept with her. Since the Geass also increased her regeneration to an unbelievable level (though not at the level of a code) where she could heal cuts completely within a minute, she made it a routine to cut herself at the very least 300 times a day to speed the development of the Geass.

By the time it was fully evolved last year, all sense of pain, despair, sorrow and guilt were completely non-existent. She believed that the Geass was a manifestation of her vulnerability to despair and sorrow during her previous life, which in part made sense since the manifestation of her Geass blocked all those emotions too.

This was in fact her first time feeling pain in the year, and the sensation was uncomfortable to a degree, almost foreign. However, since she had harmed herself for over a decade even before the full development of her Geass, she was well versed in dealing with pain.

Slowly lifting off blanket that had covered her supposed deceased corpse, she confirmed that there was no soul in the vicinity before standing up. She was currently in a chamber, probably awaiting decoration for an official burial. There was a large see through panel that separated a small office from her chamber- probably for a guard to oversee the body. The clock hung on the wall inside the office told her that it was currently midnight, perfect timing for her to make her escape.

She wasn't without company though. Inside the office, was a female wearing an a Britannian imperial guard costume, possibly stationed to prevent the body of a royal being stolen.

One would expect that a royal guard would be experienced, yet the one in front of her was clearly asleep on her desk. If this were any other day, she would've gotten away with it as the security on the Imperial Morgue was already heavy, but who would expect the body itself to try to make an escape, right?

Her clothes had yet to be changed since it had only been an hour since her official death. The cape and dress were dyed almost completely blood-red, yet all her wounds had already closed and completely healed.

The door to the office was unlocked as there was no need to lock doors on the dead. She walked over to the officer, took the gun and knife, slit the her throat, before cleaning the knife and tucking it under her cape. She then retrieved all data that was present on the computer in the room, walked back towards the table she was resting on earlier before retracing her steps to the exit carefully and leaving the room.

By leaving an extra set of footsteps, she could make it seem as if someone had come in and stole her body. Since Charles had knowledge of the code, any slip-ups now could lead him to the truth of her plan. She also didn't underestimate the OSI's investigation capabilities, and made sure to cover all her steps to make sure she wasn't giving away any leads.

She was certain that if she simply walked away without dealing with the guard, Charles would catch onto something as that would mean the intruder somehow didn't set off the alarm as entering the body chamber from the outside would usually set it off.

Best case scenario would be if he could frame VV for the kidnapping in Charles' and her mother's eyes, as they shouldn't know of his official death. To add insult to the injury, she carved the Geass Order's insignia on the guard's arms after changing into her royal guard uniform she stole from the now dead officer.

She looked back at the building once more before heading towards the SKS hanger bays, where her transport out was awaiting her.

* * *

Pendragon Palace, 2009

"CHARLES, WHERE THE HELL IS THAT BRAT, I WANT HIS HEAD ON A PLATTER .INSTANT!"

A booming female voice echoed throughout the palace as all the servants and maids made way for the demon in disguise who was heading straight towards the Emperor's chamber. Though the Emperor's consorts were allowed to roam free in the palace, even they were not allowed to directly intrude on the Emperor without permission.

Though this was the case, no one dared to stop the raging women with raven hair who was as scary- no, even scarier than she was when she used to be a Knight of the Round.

"FINE, I'M COMING IN INSTEAD!"

The Emperor's doors literally broke down as Marianne slammed her fist against it, revealing the Emperor in his royal garbs talking on the phone with his back turned on her.

"No... I'll deal with it later." With that, he hung up the phone and looked towards Marianne with a calm expression as he had already expected her to show up sooner or later.

 _Here it comes..._ Charles braced himself for the impact he dubbed 'the Marianne Bomb'.

"YOU'RE SHITTY BROTHER JUST KILLED OUR DAUGHTER, OUR. DAUGHTER. TELL ME WHERE THE HELL HE IS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IM GOING TO RIP HIS HEAD OPEN, PULL OUT HIS STINKING BRAIN, AND MAKE SURE HE DOESN'T REVIVE EVER AGAIN UNTIL-"

Charles simply stood there taking the full brunt of her anger. There was nothing he could do now, and the best option was to let her spill it all before they moved onto talking about how to deal with the issue.

In truth, even he felt betrayed. His brother had sworn that he wouldn't touch his children, specifically Luna, yet only a few years later he decides to mow down his most capable child who could've been a vital player in the Ragnarok.

Not only that, She was the only child who he held fatherly love for. If it weren't for the fact that VV was immortal, then he might have already strangled him personally.

Only after half an hour did Marianne begin to calm down.

"There's nothing we can do about it, VV disappeared from the Geass Order right after he killed our child, the OSI have no idea where he is either."

"Bu-"

"Trust me Marianne, if I knew where he was, I would personally make him regret his actions, but right now there is nothing we can do."

"Then what about Lelouch and Nunnally? They are sure to face far worse harassment from the nobles now that their guardian angel is gone." Marianne voiced her concern openly. Though her other two children weren't as capable as Luna, she still loved them as a mother. Lelouch's intelligence, whilst not as mind-blowing as his older sister's, was still astounding, and could almost rival Schneizel himself in chess despite the huge age difference. Given a few more years and it was possible that he might have caught up to Luna.

"We should exile the two." The Emperor said with his regular stoic expression, catching Marianne off guard.

"E-exile? But isn't there a better way?" She tried to plead.

"We could try, but there is no guarantee of their safety now that Luna is gone. I also recommend that you retreat to the palace afterwards as I can't protect you from all the way up here."

"Right, but why exile?"

Charles sighed.

"Right now, their development will definitely stagger since the sister they looked up to so much is dead, it is possible that they might fall into depression- no, they definitely will. If we put up a show, then we should be able to get them to hate the Empire and me along with our exile whilst giving them reason to improve and live on."

The Emperor took a deep breath and looked Marianne in the eyes.

"Hate is a powerful emotion, it can fuel even the most depraved of beings to find strength within themselves to stand up to powerful foes and live on. Though it would be preferable for them to remain within the homeland, I believe that an exile is the best way for them to develop to their fullest potential. They might also end up being key players of the Ragnarok in the future, I wouldn't want to waste two perfectly fine allies in this war against God."

Marianne stood there for a minute to contemplate before nodding.

"Right, but where to?"

"Japan is the best choice, that way we also get more sakuradite for the Knightmares, two birds with one stone."

Just then, a messenger rushed in. During the cases of emergency level 3 or lower, messengers are permitted to directly intrude the Emperor's quarters without permission.

"Your Majesty, bad news!"

The husband and wife looked towards the messenger. They didn't care for what he had to say, since they didn't believe that anything the messenger could have would be more important than the issue of their daughter's murder and other two childrens' exile.

"Speak."

The messenger gulped down a mouthful of saliva from the pressure emitted by the Emperor.

"Princess Luna vi Britannia's body is missing whilst the guard is killed, there are two sets of footprints leading to and from the morgue, we suspect that the body was robbed."

For a moment, the two didn't reply, frozen in shock. The next, two synchronised cries of shock erupted, heard by all in the palace.

""WHAT!?""

* * *

Hello people, welcome to another chapter~

NEXT CHAPTER: reactions from rest of cast on Luna's death + fate of the Ashfords + more

Hope you enjoyed. Currently I'm painting Marianne and Charles in a good light compared to the pure evil counterparts shown in the anime, displaying how luna's existence has changed their views on being parents.

not much to say otherwise, leave a review, and enjoy :)


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